4 ms·

The packages I receive seem like they are packed by a simple algorithm. Find the longest dimension of the object, get a box that holds that size. Fill the box

• onion2k 4y ago
  That's not what I mean. Picking a box isn't so hard (although box packing algorithms for non-uniform objects is still tricky). The robotics part is more like "how do I make a robot that can pick up a pen, a 50kg weight, and a silk blouse, and make it put all three in the same package without messing up?" In a factory that would be three distinct robots because that variability in weight, size, surface friction, malleability, etc makes it a hard problem. In a warehouse it would need to be one robot. Even if you compromise and accept additional packaging like putting soft items in boxes or bags it's still quite difficult.
  • ghaff 4y ago
    >Picking a box isn't so hard Though, frankly, Amazon often seems to do a terrible job of optimizing packing--both over and under. I'm guessing that within some range of the right size and some range of not having too much breakage, it's cheaper for them to half-ass it to some degree.